Afraid This Time
by Aerle
Summary: Ace prefers to be alone so that people don't find out his secret. That is, until he meets a certain elf and centaur. Fantasy!AU. Written for the MarcoAce week 2015.


Written for the MarcoAce week 2015 day 7 with the theme "Random".

Thanks to MyLadyDay for letting me use her Viking design for elf!Marco.

Title is from the song by Linkin Park

* * *

Panting, Ace looked over his shoulder to see how close his pursuers were. He could still hear shouting and see the torches and pitchforks – which, in his opinion, were a bit much – in the distance. He had hoped he would lose them in the forest, but they were determined to catch him.

Maybe he shouldn't have stolen their valuables. On the other hand, a guy had to eat, and Ace was a guy who really liked to eat.

While he had managed to make the distance between them larger, he hadn't manage to shake them. He needed a miracle, and fast. He didn't feel like going to the scaffold and have rotten fruits and vegetables thrown at him, thank you very much.

Suddenly, it seemed like his prayers were answered. In the distance, he could see the hind legs of a horse. With a horse, he could definitely outrun his pursuers.

He may have to steal it, though.

Ace pulled his knitted cap further over his ears and jumped on the horse from behind. "Giddy-up!" he called and dug his heels into the horse's flanks.

Instead of starting to gallop, however, the horse reared up, throwing Ace off it. Ace landed on his back with a groan, and he was glad that the forest ground was soft and mossy.

"What the hell?" Ace muttered and waited till the world stopped turning around him.

"I should say that!"

Ace blinked again and then looked into an angry, and very human, face. For a second, he thought the owner of the horse had returned, until he realised that the human torso was attached to a horse's body.

He had tried to use a centaur as a common horse.

He was so dead.

Ace scuffled backwards, quickly putting his cap back on that had fallen from his head during his landing, trying to get out of reach of the very annoyed looking centaur. "I-I'm sorry. I'm on the run and I need to get out of here quickly…"

"So you thought you'd use me as a mount?!" the centaur snapped. He had folded his arms across his bare chest.

Ace gulped, but he heard his pursuers coming closer. "Please give me a ride! I can pay you, or… find you a nymph or something?"

The centaur sighed. "We'll never get rid of that reputation, will we? I don't even like nymphs, thank you very much." He looked at Ace and his face softened. "Fine, I'll give you a lift, but you owe me a favour. I don't know when I'll cash it in, but I will."

"Yes, of course. Thank you!" Ace jumped on the centaur's back, careful not to touch the bow and quiver that were hanging on the centaur's back.

The centaur started to gallop through the woods, and Ace had to hold on tight not to fall off. The voices of his pursuers, which had become louder and louder by the second, now soon died away. Ace held on to his woolly hat, laughing at the feeling of freedom.

They galloped for what seemed like forever, and while Ace loved it, he had to wonder where they were going.

"I think we lost them. You can put me down now," he told the centaur as he held on to his muscular arms.

The centaur flashed him an unsettling grin and continued running.

Ace started to get an ominous feeling. The centaur had said he didn't like nymphs, but did that mean he liked… Ace? Ace had no idea how that would even work, and, frankly, he didn't want to know either.

Finally, they came to a halt, and Ace immediately took the opportunity to jump off the centaur's back and tried to make a run for it. Before he could escape, however, the centaur grabbed his collar and hauled him back.

"I thought you went hunting?" a lazy voice suddenly said.

"I did. And I caught a big one." The centaur smirked at Ace, who, once again, had a bad feeling. Had he landed in a herd of centaurs? Would he survive?

Much to his surprise – and no little relief – a humanoid figured rose from where he had been lying, hidden from sight by some bushes. When he turned around to face Ace, Ace's breath caught. He was looking at the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Tall, large blue eyes and long blond hair, which was tied in a braid and the sides of his head were shaven. And his ears…

Ace was looking at an elf, a rather bored looking one at that. He observed Ace through half lidded eyes. The staring made Ace uncomfortable and he pulled his hat further over his ears.

"This guy was fleeing from some angry villagers," the centaur said to the elf. "I gave him a ride in exchange for… a favour."

"Oh?" The elf looked at Ace again.

The centaur had let go of Ace's collar, but still stood in such a way that Ace couldn't possibly escape. Well, he could, but he feared he would have an arrow in his back before he had a chance to enjoy his freedom. Both centaurs _and_ elves were renowned for their mastery with bow and arrow.

"What's your name?" the elf asked him.

Ace looked at the centaur. "Ace," he said then.

The elf nodded. "My name is Marco, and that's Shanks." He nodded at the grinning centaur.

Ace looked from the one to the other. "What… are you gonna do to me?"

Marco and Shanks exchanged a look, before Shanks burst into laughter. "What, you think because I don't like nymphs, I'll take you? Or that you're our dinner?"

Ace flushed. "How should I know? You practically kidnapped me!"

"Are you complaining? You begged me."

While they were bickering, Marco walked calmly back to the place where he had been lying before and picked up a bag that was lying there. "Are you hungry, Ace?"

His stomach answered that question before he had the chance, so he nodded slightly flushed.

"Come." Marco sat down and started to get food from the bag.

Ace, however, remained standing, even after Shanks lied down next to Marco as well. "So I'm just supposed to believe that you're gonna give me food for free?" he asked sceptically.

"Well, we can hardly kidnap you and then not feed you, now can we?" Marco asked amusedly and took a bite from the bread he was holding.

Shanks snickered.

Ace gave them both a dirty look. "What's keeping me from just running off right now?"

"Your stomach," Shanks said with his mouth full.

"You can pay for the next meal if it makes you feel any better," Marco offered.

Ace looked from Marco to the food and back. He _was_ very hungry, and while he had stolen quite some valuable objects, he couldn't eat those. He would have to wait until he found some food in the forest or until he could buy something. And Marco just offered him dinner now.

Huffing, Ace sat down demonstratively and took the bread Marco offered him.

"We don't have much, but that's Shanks' fault," Marco said. "He was supposed to go hunting."

"Oi, I was being a good Samaritan," Shanks protested.

Ace allowed himself to smile as he stuffed his face. Up till now, Marco and Shanks had done nothing to earn his distrust, but Ace wasn't ready to let his guard down. "So, who are you two that you just share your food with a stranger?" he asked after he had swallowed.

Marco shrugged. "Outlaws, like you. And those should stick together, don't you agree?"

"How do you know I won't just cut your throats and steal your belongings?" Ace said challengingly.

Marco and Shanks exchanged a look again, and before Ace knew it, Marco was straddling him, a knife pressed against the vulnerable flesh of his throat. A piece of bread was still sticking out of his mouth as Ace looked wide-eyed up at Marco.

Marco smirked. "I would advise against that." He moved back and continued eating like nothing happened.

Ace remained lying for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the sky. Everything had gone so fast, Marco sitting on top of him…

He was ashamed to admit that his thoughts lingered on that fact, longer than on the knife that had been pressed against his throat. The way Marco, the beautiful elf, had towered over him… Ace felt the heat rushing to his cheeks.

Not that he thought for a moment that Marco would reciprocate his feelings. Even if he would be interested now, once he found out the truth, he would be disgusted with Ace, like everyone else.

Ace shook his head to rid himself of those thought. No need to go down that road. He sat up, pulled his hat further over his head and dusted off the piece of bread that had fallen from his mouth at some point. "I'll remember that," he said hoarsely.

Marco and Shanks exchanged an amused look.

Ace ate in silence, watching the other two closely as they discussed one thing or another. He was tired, and while he didn't quite trust his companions, he couldn't bring himself to be alert. He tried to stay awake by eating more, but soon he felt that familiar feeling.

 _Fuck, not now_ , was the last thing he thought before it became dark.

* * *

When Ace opened his eyes again, Marco and Shanks were leaned over him, looking down at him with a mixture of confusion and worry.

Ace sat up and wiped the sand – mixed with drool – from his face and fixed his hat. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Do you always collapse like that?" Shanks inquired.

Ace shrugged. "I'm narcoleptic, so sometimes." He took a sip from the waterskin offered to him. "It's no big deal."

Well, at least Marco and Shanks hadn't robbed him while he was out, he noted as he saw his loot lying a few feet away from him. Maybe he could trust them. That would be nice. He wouldn't tell them the truth, of course, because especially Marco would be repulsed by him, but maybe he could indulge himself a little.

"So, how did you two meet?" Ace asked. "You're hardly a conventional couple."

Marco made a face. "Don't think we're dating or something."

"Oi, you could do a lot worse than me," Shanks huffed.

Marco pursed his lips, but didn't reply.

Ace shrugged. "Well, Shanks _did_ say he didn't like nymphs, so…"

"I'm also not into elves."

"Fine, how did you meet then?" Ace took another sip from the waterskin.

Marco and Shanks exchanged a look again.

"I met him when he was so drunk he couldn't stand on his own legs anymore. And he has four," Marco said with a smirk.

Ace snorted, before bursting into laughter. "You're so hung up about people not assuming you like to chance nymphs, while you fit the stereotype of drunk centaur perfectly!"

"Oioi, it wasn't that bad," Shanks protested.

"If I'd come any later, you'd gone home with a faun," Marco pointed out.

Shanks huffed. "Well, let's talk about you then. The perfect elf, aren't you?"

Marco grit his teeth. "Don't you dare!"

"Why not? We're merely exchanging fun anecdotes, aren't we?" Shanks said innocently.

Ace looked from one to the other as they seemed to fight out the battle with their eyes.

Eventually, Marco sighed. "Fine, if you want to tell him so badly, do it."

Shanks grinned triumphantly. "Good, the kid needs to have his assumptions about elves shattered as well. They're not half as perfect as they like to pretend to be, you know." He had turned to Ace.

Ace didn't know what to think. He had always heard that elves were beauty and grace, if a bit cold, and Marco seemed to fit that mould perfectly.

"He kissed," Shanks looked at Marco smugly, "a dwarf."

Ace snorted again. While dwarf were great merchants, smiths and warriors, they weren't exactly known for their looks or appealing personalities.

"It was one kiss, hardly more than a peck, and I lost a bet," Marco protested.

"Which almost cost you your head."

Marco sighed and turned to Ace. "Never kiss an angry dwarf with an axe within reach."

Ace chuckled. "I wasn't planning on it, but I'll keep it in mind."

Marco was still looking at him, his eyes lingering on Ace, and Ace couldn't look away, though force of habit made him pull down his woolly hat a little more.

"So, Ace, now you tell something embarrassing," Shanks finally broke the tension.

Ace blinked a few times as if he just woke up, and then turned to Shanks. "Not much to tell."

"Everyone has an embarrassing anecdote," Shanks said.

"Er… I often fall asleep with my face in a plate of food, does that count?"

Shanks hummed. "It's a start."

They talked for a bit longer, Shanks and Marco telling different stories, and sometimes Ace chimed even in. While he enjoyed himself, Ace knew he couldn't stay. These people weren't his friends, and if he stayed, they would find out his secret. He decided it was time to leave.

"Well, thank you for helping me, but I have to go now," Ace said and hauled the bag of stolen goods over his shoulder.

"Not so fast." Shanks blocked his way again, having risen with the speed of light.

"Ah, right." Ace opened his bag and took out a handful of jewels and other precious items. "For your next meal. Thanks for taking care of me." He bowed.

"That wasn't what I meant," Shanks said. "I decided on how you can repay me the favour."

Ace raised a sceptical eyebrow. "How?"

"The reason I'm travelling with Marco is because I'm looking for someone. I want you to help me with that." Shanks crossed his arms before his chest.

"Why would you want my help with that?"

"'Cause I haven't had any luck with only elf-boy here," Marco snorted at that, "and I could use another set of eyes. And you owe me for saving your skin," Shanks said.

"Okay, okay." He obviously didn't have a choice. "Who are you looking for?" he inquired.

"I'm looking for… a friend. A centaur, like me."

Ace had the feeling Shanks wasn't telling the whole story, but he didn't press. "What do they look like?"

"Incredibly handsome, a gorgeous black coat of fur and…" Shanks cleared his throat. "I mean, his name is Benn."

"Okay." Ace looked at Marco, who smirked back and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Let's try to travel some more. Not too far from here I heard there should be some centaurs holding up," Marco said.

* * *

They had set up camp in a clearing in the woods. They had been walking all day without finding the centaurs Marco had spoken of, yet Ace found himself unable to sleep. Marco was lying curled up next to the fire, but Shanks, who was supposed to have first watch, was nowhere to be seen.

Ace decided to go investigate a little, and soon, he found Shanks, standing next to a small brook. "Hey," he said.

Shanks looked over his shoulder. "Yo. I didn't leave you to fend for yourselves. I just… needed to freshen myself up."

Ace nodded as Shanks turned back to the water. They stood like that in silence for a while, when Ace asked: "This friend of yours, why did he leave?"

Shanks sighed. "He didn't abandon me, if that's what you're thinking. He was needed elsewhere, but he should have been back by now, so, yeah, I'm worried about him."

"Sorry," Ace said quietly. "I didn't mean to pry…"

Shanks sighed again. "No, I guess you have the right to know."

Ace remained silent for a moment, and then hit Shanks on his back jovially. "Come on, you dumb horse, you'll find him. Trust me."

* * *

"Ace, wake up."

A delicate hand gently shook him, but Ace didn't feel like waking up. "Five more minutes," he muttered and turned to his other side.

A low chuckle sounded next to him. Immediately, Ace was awake. He wasn't alone anymore, he was with an elf and a centaur, looking for another centaur!

Marco was still crouching next to him, Ace sensed as much without even looking – it had to be Marco because Shanks couldn't really crouch. Ace immediately sat up, pulling his hat firmly over his ears. Marco might think it was strange he slept with a cap on, but if he did, he didn't say anything about it.

"Are you ready to go?"

Ace took the piece of bread Marco was offering him and rose to his feet, dusting off his clothes. Marco rose too and shot Ace a warm smile that did weird things to his stomach. Ace decided to blame the hunger and not the fact that Marco looked absolutely gorgeous despite the early hour.

Shanks had taken saddlebags onto his back, meanwhile muttering how he wasn't a beast of burden.

"Don't mind him, he does that every morning," Marco told Ace.

Ace grinned and slapped Shanks on his human back. "Come on, old pack mule. Quit your whining and let's go!"

The deadly glare he received made him chuckle. Marco snickered as well and then placed a hand on Ace's shoulder, pushing him gently in the direction they would travel in. Ace's cheeks flushed slightly as he felt the warmth radiating from Marco's hand seeping through his clothes. He ignored the smug look Shanks gave him.

* * *

Days passed, and Ace started to get nervous. There still wasn't a sign of this Benn fellow anywhere to be found, though Shanks remained cheerful and optimistic. Ace felt quite the contrary. The more time he spend with Shanks and Marco, the more he started to like them.

Especially Marco. There was more to him aside from being the most gorgeous man ever to have walked the earth, in Ace's humble opinion. Marco was nice and funny, and, for some reason, he seemed to like Ace as well. Just as a friend of course, but still. Ace had never had any friends before.

And it worried him. The longer he stayed, the more chance there was they would find out his secret, and with that, the more it would hurt Ace when the inevitable happened and they would send him away. And would be disgusted with him.

That thought made Ace's stomach curl. The feeling vanished into thin air as soon as Marco smiled at him, however, if only for a moment.

Those smiles gave Ace the feeling that Marco might like him as well, in the same way Ace liked him. No, that wasn't accurate. In the best-case scenario, Marco would like the Ace he pretended to be. The Ace who pretended to be a human.

That realisation made Ace all the more determined to leave. He had considered disappearing into the night when he had watch at night, but he couldn't leave Shanks and Marco to fend for themselves. He would have to be patient and wait for a way out.

When Shanks was out hunting one day, Ace asked Marco, "So, how long have you been looking for this Benn person? I mean, we've been looking for days and there's no sign of him. Do you even know if he exists?"

Marco cocked an eyebrow. "You think Shanks has made him up?"

"N-no! I didn't mean it like that… Just, how long do you think it'll take?"

"Why, are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" Marco sharpened his dagger with lazy movements. "I can't say how long it'll take. I accompany Shanks now for six months–"

"Six months?! And still no sign of that centaur?" Ace called out in shock.

"Well, Shanks has been looking for longer now. The world's a large place, with many places to vanish." Marco checked the sharpness of the dagger and, seemingly satisfied, he placed it back in his belt. "Why do you ask?"

Ace looked away. He couldn't give Marco a straight answer, not without giving himself away. "I'm just curious," he muttered.

Marco moved over to sit next to him and wrapped an arm around him. Ace could feel his cheeks heat up, and he tried to pull his knitted cap lower without being conspicuous.

"Look," Marco said. "We'll find Benn. And when we do, I'd like for you to come with me, to my family."

"You… have a family?" Ace asked surprised.

Marco smiled at him. "Of course I do."

"I just… I figured it was just you and Shanks. Since you said you were outlaws and all."

Marco laughed. "Well, it's not like I come from a family of saints. But Shanks and I are outlaws. We've obtained things in not so legal manners, not to mention hunting in the king's forest. That's illegal in some countries." He took his arm from around Ace and leaned back on his hands. Ace immediately missed the warmth.

"I am travelling with Shanks because I promised to help him. When I have fulfilled that promise, I want to go home – he'll be wanting privacy anyway. I love my family. And they'll love you too."

Ace stared at him in shock for a moment. The word love sounded foreign to him. There was no way anyone would ever love him. He wrapped his arms around him knees and stared to the ground. "How would you know?" he muttered.

Marco placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because _I_ like you."

Those words, they hurt so much because they couldn't possibly be true. Marco only liked human Ace, not the real Ace.

Ace shot upright. "You don't even know me!" he yelled at Marco, and disappeared between the trees, leaving Marco stunned behind.

* * *

Over the next two days, Ace managed to avoid being alone with Marco. He didn't want to talk about what happened, and he knew Marco wanted to do exactly that. Fortunately, he didn't bring it up when Shanks was around.

Ace, however, was determined to speak with Shanks in private, and he got his chance when Shanks retreated to pee. Ace followed him, until Shanks turned around.

"Do you mind? I like my privacy."

"I'm sorry, but I need to talk to you," Ace replied.

"We all _need_ to do stuff," Shanks muttered under his breath. "Fine, what's up?"

"Just…" Ace hesitated for a moment, but when Shanks huffed annoyed and stomped his hoof, he hastily continued, "When do you think we'll find this friend of yours."

Shanks shrugged. "Who knows? Hopefully soon. Now, was that all?"

"Marco told me how long you've been looking," Ace blurted out.

"Finding someone takes time. What can I say? Now, why is this important? Do you have someplace to be? Or are you just tired of us?" he added and poked Ace between the ribs with his elbow.

"Of course not, just… You know, after all this time you'd think you'd have find at least a hint where your friend should hold up, don't you think?" Ace said carefully.

Shanks narrowed his eyes, his arms folded before his chest. "What are you aiming at?"

Ace took a deep breath and then looked up, directly into Shanks' eyes. "Have you ever considered he may not _want_ to be found?"

Shanks grit his teeth.

"I'm just saying," Ace continued, "you claim he's your friend, but how do I know you're not just a stalker or hired assassin or something? If you two were as close as you imply, why hasn't he come back to you on his own?"

Shanks' hooves pressed against his chest painfully before he could respond. "Don't you dare speak about him like that," Shanks hissed.

Ace was pinned between a tree and an angry centaur without hope of escape.

Fortunately, Marco just showed up to see where they had been. "Oi!" he called out when he saw Ace's distressing situation. He ran towards Shanks and pulled him back. "Go cool off," he said sternly.

Shanks cast one last angry look at Ace, before turning around and walking away.

"What happened?" Marco asked whole Ace rubbed at the sore spots on his chest where the hooves had been.

Ace looked away and kept silent.

Marco sighed. "Ace, if you want to leave so badly, no one is stopping you."

Ace glared at him, but then sighed. "I promised to stay."

"Look, I don't know why you leave, but you're free to do so." Marco leaned to a tree next to Ace. "Just know that we both want you here."

"Shanks doesn't anymore," Ace huffed.

"He'll cool off. Benn is a sensitive subject, and a frustrating one." Marco turned to Ace, and his face softened. "We're your friends, you can trust us."

Ace let out a frustrated growl. "No, you aren't! And you never will be. If you only knew…" He pushed himself off the tree he was leaning against. "I can't stay, and if you won't make me… I'll be leaving now." He turned away from Marco and bit his lip harshly. He had known all along that this day would come. He had been postponing it, so it was his own fault he got attached to Marco and Shanks.

He just wanted to leave without looking at either of them, or hearing them, for that matter, but of course Marco had to ruin that.

"Like I said, I won't stop you," he said. "But, Ace… I know your secret."

Ace froze in his tracks. He… couldn't have heard that right.

He didn't hear Marco's footsteps on the soft forest ground, but suddenly felt his presence behind him. Marco turned him around by placing gently a hand on his shoulder.

Ace had become pale, and his lips were quivering.

The way Marco looked at him, however, was confusing. If he really knew Ace's secret like he claimed, why was he looking so warmly at him?

Marco reached up and gently pulled Ace's hat, which he hadn't been without ever, aside from when he was washing his hair, off his head. Ace stood still frozen and was powerless to do anything against it.

Two slightly pointed ears appeared. They weren't nearly as long as Marco's, but definitely longer than a human's.

"How?" Ace whispered almost inaudibly.

Marco smiled softly. "You're not the only half elf pretending to be human by hiding their ears."

Ace looked away. "If you know, then why are you still here? Why didn't you chase me off as soon as you found out?"

"I kinda knew right away."

Ace's jaw tightened. "Then why let me stay?"

"Ace," Marco gently tilted Ace's face so that he faced him, "I'm not appalled by you. Whose idea do you think it was to ask you to stay?"

"Shanks asked me," Ace said confusedly.

Marco smiled. "I all but begged him to ask you. In fact, I owe him now."

Ace only became more confused. "Why? Now being appalled is one thing, but…"

"Because I thought you were cute." Marco brushed some hair out of Ace's face. "And in the past couple of days, I only started to like you more." He sighed. "I had hoped you would tell me what you really are yourself. Not that I care, but you obviously do."

"I still don't understand," Ace whispered. " _Why_ aren't you appalled?"

Marco sighed. "I just don't care about race. I know half elves are seen as freaks of nature by both humans and elves, but I disagree with that view wholeheartedly."

"It's all my father's fault." Ace almost spat out the word 'father'. "If he had kept his hands off my mother, she wouldn't have died during my birth."

"But you wouldn't have existed," Marco pointed out.

Ace looked away. "That would have been better anyway." His eyes widened in shock when Marco suddenly pulled him into a hug.

"Please don't say things like that," Marco whispered in his ear. "I'm so happy you're here, that I got to know you. Please tell me you'll stay."

Tears welled up in Ace's eyes as he returned the hug, hiding his face in the crook of Marco's neck. "I'm glad I met you too," he whispered.

* * *

From a distance, Shanks was looking at the two and he sighed. He regretted his reaction, especially since he had expected Ace might try to provoke him to make the goodbye easier. Now, it seemed that Ace's 'secret' was out in the open – well, Marco and he had known pretty much right away.

Really, it was about time Marco made a move. Seeing those two dance around each other was exhausting.

Still, seeing them so happy together stirred up a feeling of jealousy. He missed Benn.

Ace had made a good point, though. Not about Shanks being a stalker or Benn not being found, but the fact that he still hadn't found a clue as to where Benn might be. And that did raise a question: was Benn still alive?

* * *

Yes, there is a strong possibility that there will be a ShanksBenn continuation XD


End file.
